Today I opted to make good use of the early voting available in my state (the mystical swing state of Ohio) to both get it out of the way for myself and to make sure I didn't have emergency conflicts popping up on election day.
Overall it was a quiet experience... Well, except for the giant line out front. Thankfully, that line wasn't the line to go vote.
So it seems there was a county Halloween event going on this very night. I was a bit concerned by the line as I drove up. But as I got closer, I began to realize that most the folks there were wearing black... and orange... or seemed to have something out of place with them...
As I had not been to the office where the early voting is held before, I stopped and asked a woman with three ghostly children if she knew where I needed to go. Also, what the heck was going on. Long story short, candy and revelry for the kids.
Getting into the election office was easier than the ropes and orange barrels suggested. Those were again for the event of the season. It took me about 15 minutes of waiting in the actual line. I suspect most of the wait was due to a limited staff at the election office there. There were a number of machines but the ladies up front were constantly processing people.
The folks in line seemed surprisingly more diverse than I was expecting given the general demographics where I live in the county. So either my corner of things is whiter than most areas, or things are going different than usual here. The funny thing is, that I was the only one there wearing a tie. As I had come over right after work, I hadn't though to take it off. I have to wonder if there was any other observer in the line who was trying to size me up for what my partisan allegiances might be. My long hair and age suggest Democrat of course. But my work cloths kind of suggest something very different.
I filled out the form thing confirming who I am and got a plastic card for the machine. Yes, electronic voting. But, the kind that have paper receipts that you confirm at the end. There were a couple local races I blanked on the candidates, and thus opted not to vote either (they were non-partisan offices so I didn't feel right on guessing). Otherwise I voted straight dem, against issue 1, and for issue 2.
I've not really been pestered personally by parties locally. Kind of new to the area. The county is very Republican as well. So I'm hoping my vote is a surprise boon to Obama, Brown, and the rest of the good folks up and down the ticket.
So yes, I am a +1 voter today.